Cutting Edge Homes and its president, Sean Cutting, have been defendants in the lawsuits, the vast majority filed over the past six years. The allegations include deceptive charges, missed deadlines, and subcontractors left unpaid. More than $700,000 in legal judgments have been tallied, not including 15 open lawsuits with claims totaling millions.

The company’s state home improvement contractor registration was suspended last summer for multiple violations, but renovation work continued at homes in Milton and Wellesley after the June 12 suspension date, according to surveillance video and town permit and contract documents. State law prohibits contractors from performing home improvement work with a suspended registration.

“It’s millions of dollars and he’s not slowing down,” said Jonathan Lococo, a Melrose homeowner. “And no one is doing anything about it.”

The Lococos hired Cutting Edge after being drawn in by the company’s social media presence and Cutting’s charisma. They said demolition began quickly, but progress stalled. By the time they had to move out of their condo in August 2025, their home was gutted to the studs with no electricity or running water. They began receiving calls from subcontractors who had not been paid.

“It seemed like a trend,” Jonathan Lococo said. The couple eventually finished the project with other subcontractors and family help, moving in a year late and estimating losses of about $100,000.

In Newton, Aaron and Ashley Roffel hired Cutting Edge for an extensive renovation of their historic home. They grew suspicious after delays and questions about payments, then learned from a neighbor that the company had a reputation for not paying subcontractors. Already hundreds of thousands of dollars into the project, they cut ties. Their home sat exposed over the winter while they lived in temporary housing with their four children.

“We were in an absolute panic,” Aaron Roffel said. The family later finished the project with a new contractor at a cost he described as “more than a half-million dollars” beyond their original budget.

In Wayland, Lisa and Richard Patten said they were told a significant deposit had been used to order kitchen cabinets, but when they contacted the vendor directly, nothing had been ordered. They also said Cutting Edge failed to pay the invoice for a portable toilet, leaving it uncleaned in their garage.

“It was betrayal and devastation,” Lisa Patten said. “We felt like we’d been robbed.”

The Pattens hired another contractor to complete the work. “We paid double,” she said.

Court records reviewed include a Sherborn homeowner who alleges she paid nearly the entire $2.5 million contract price while the project remained less than half complete. A judge awarded her a $450,000 attachment on Cutting’s Hopkinton property. In Weymouth, a couple expecting their third child said they lived in a camper in their front yard after deadlines passed. A Westwood couple reported three mechanic’s liens from unpaid subcontractors.

About 40 subcontractors have taken Cutting Edge to court for unpaid work. Jeff Boyer, an electrician for more than 20 years, won a $7,400 small claims judgment. He said the experience forced him to leave his small business and return to work for a previous employer to pay bills for his family.

“It put a lot of stress on me,” Boyer said. “It’s mind-blowing someone could be out on the street doing this for so long.”

The company still lists its main office at a commercial building on Waverly Street in Ashland, but the property owner, Robert Seta, said Cutting Edge has not occupied the building since 2025 and provided a cease-and-desist letter he said was ignored. Seta said other tenants, including a business that cares for children, complained about strangers showing up at all hours looking for Cutting.

“There were people waiting in the parking lot because they were owed money,” Seta said.

The state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) suspended the company’s registration after hearings attended by Cutting and homeowners. Written decisions found violations including failing to perform a project and failing to pay for materials and services after receiving funds. A suspension order took effect June 12, and a subsequent complaint extended it until October 2027.

An OCABR spokesperson confirmed that active projects should stop when a registration is suspended. The agency said it has not received complaints about unregistered work since imposing the suspension, but would work with the Attorney General’s Office or district attorneys if credible allegations arose. The relevant statute allows fines, imprisonment, or both for operating during a suspension.

Cutting declined an on-camera interview, citing advice from his attorney due to ongoing legal proceedings. In an email, he said his business has designed and built more than 100 high-end residential projects over 15 years and won awards including “Best of Boston.” He said that as circumstances became “increasingly difficult,” he continued working with homeowners through revised schedules, alternative payment arrangements, and phased construction plans.

“Not every proposed solution was accepted or successful, but we continued looking for a path forward,” Cutting wrote. “We did not voluntarily walk away from a single project and continued working toward completion unless a homeowner or their representative instructed us not to return. We remain proud of the homes we built, the people who helped build them, and the efforts we made during extraordinary circumstances.”

Homeowners say they are still waiting for accountability. In Melrose, Myla Lococo wiped away tears as she described the loss.

“It’s super emotional, knowing that we both worked hard to get to that place and we’ll likely never see it again,” she said. “It’s money that we would’ve spent making memories for our family. It’s years and years of savings that is just gone.”